First report of hepatic hematoma after presumed Bothrops envenomation

ABSTRACTIn Latin America, Bothrops envenomation is responsible for the majority of accidents caused by venomous snakes. Patients usually present local edema, bleeding and coagulopathy. Visceral hemorrhage is extremely rare and considered a challenge for diagnosis and management. We report the first case of hepatic hematoma owing to the bothropic envenomation in a 66-year-old man who was bitten in the left leg. He presented local edema, coagulopathy, and acute kidney injury. Radiological findings suggested hepatic hematoma, with a volume of almost 3 liters. The hepatic hematoma was gradually absorbed without the need for surgical intervention with complete resolution in 8 months.

First report of schistosomiasis on Serrambi beach, Ipojuca, State of Pernambuco

Abstract: INTRODUCTION : The expansion of schistosomiasis to previously unaffected areas is being monitored by identifying new cases and georeferencing outbreaks of vector snails. METHODS : In 2014, the Laboratório de Esquistossomose began an epidemiological survey in Serrambi and registered 2,574 people living there. RESULTS : Of these subjects, 1,414 (54.9%) underwent feces examination and 63 (4.5%) were diagnosed with Schistosoma mansoni infection. At this locality, seven breeding sites each were identified for Biomphalaria straminea and Biomphalaria glabrata. At two sites, B. glabrata were shedding cercariae. CONCLUSIONS : Implementing preventive measures is necessary to avoid the establishment of schistosomiasis in yet another tourist locality, Pernambuco.

Experience with the first Internet-based course at the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo

PURPOSE: The Internet expands the range and flexibility of teaching options and enhances the ability to process the ever-increasing volume of medical knowledge. The aim of this study is to describe and discuss our experience with transforming a traditional medical training course into an Internet-based course. METHOD: Sixty-nine students were enrolled for a one-month course. They answered pre- and post-course questionnaires and took a multiple-choice test to evaluate the acquired knowledge. RESULTS: Students reported that the primary value for them of this Internet-based course was that they could choose the time of their class attendance (67%). The vast majority (94%) had a private computer and were used to visiting the Internet (75%) before the course. During the course, visits were mainly during the weekends (35%) and on the last week before the test (29%). Thirty-one percent reported that they could learn by reading only from the computer screen, without the necessity of printed material. Students were satisfied with this teaching method as evidenced by the 89% who reported enjoying the experience and the 88% who said they would enroll for another course via the Internet. The most positive aspect was freedom of scheduling, and the most negative was the lack of personal contact with the teacher. From the 80 multiple-choice questions, the mean of correct answers was 45.5, and of incorrect, 34.5. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that students can successfully learn with distance learning. It provides useful information for developing other Internet-based courses. The importance of this new tool for education in a large country like Brazil seems clear.

On project finance and the first road concession in Portugal

In broad sense, Project Financing1 as a mean of financing large scale infrastructural projects worldwide has had a steady growth in popularity for the last 20 years. This growth has been relatively unscathed from most economic cycles. However in the wake of the 2007 systemic Financial Crisis, Project Financing was also in trouble. The liquidity freeze and credit crunch that ensued affected all parties involved. Traditional Lenders, of this type of financial instrument, locked-in long-term contractual obligations, were severely hit with scarcity of funding compounded by rapidly increasing cost of funding. All the while, Banks were “rescued” by the concerted actions of Central Banks and other Multi-Lateral Agencies around the world but at the same time “stressed” by upcoming regulatory effort (Basel Committee). This impact resulted in specific changes to this type of long-term financing. Changes such as Commercial Banks’ increased risk aversion; pricing increase and maturities decrease of credit facilities; enforcement of Market Disruption Event clauses; partial responsibility for project risk by Multilateral Agencies; and adoption of utility-like availability payments in other industrial sectors such as transportation and even social infrastructure. To the extent possible, this report is then divided in three parts. First, it begins with a more instructional part, touching academic literature (theory) and giving the Banks perspective (practice), but mostly as an overview of Project Finance for awareness’ sake. The renowned Harvard Business School professor – Benjamin Esty, states2 that Project Finance is a “relatively unexplored territory for both empirical and theoretical research” which means that academic research efforts are lagging the practice of Project Finance. Second, the report presents a practical case regarding the first Road Concession in Portugal in 1998 ending with the lessons learned 10 years after Financial Close. Lastly, the report concludes with the analysis of the current trends and changes to the industry post Financial Crisis of the late 2000’s. To achieve this I’ll reference relevant papers, books on the subject, online articles and my own experience in the Project Finance Department at a major Portuguese Investment Bank. Regarding the latter, with the signing of a confidentiality agreement, I’m duly omitting sensitive and proprietary bank information.

Ants obtained from trees of a "Jacareuba" (Calophyllum brasiliense) forest plantation in Central Amazonia by canopy fogging: first results

Canopies of the locally occurring Amazonian tree species Calophyllum brasiliense. Camb. (Guttiferae, height 10 m) were fogged after dawn on the same day at five adjacent localities in a 20-year-old plantation at the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve near Manaus/Brazil, using natural pyrethrum (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%), Baythroid (0.3%) and diesel oil, respectively. The 1152 ants collected represented 52 species, 17 genera and five subfamilies. The highest number of ant species was obtained with the synthetic pyrethrum Baythroid 0.3% and with natural pyrethrum 1.5%. About 46% of the total ant species were only collected in the first hour after fogging, and 17% only during the second hour, after trees had been heavily shaken. About 73% of the total ant specimens dropped in the first hour. Data on alpha-diversity, eveness and frequency of ants indicated a rapidly decreasing knock-down effect of both the synthetic and natural pyrethrum after application. The ant fauna in the canopy of C. brasiliense is somewhat distinct compared with that of Goupia glabra Aubl. (Celastraceae, height 45 m) from the primary forest of the reserve.

First record of the bushy-tailed opossum, Glironia venusta, Thomas, 1912, (Didelphimorphia) from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

A new record of a very rarely observed mammal, the bushy-tailed opossum, Glironia venusta (Didelphimorphia), was obtained for the Adolpho Ducke Forest Reserve, Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. Only 17 other records existed of this species, most from the 1980s. There were only three previous records of the species from Brazil (in the states of Pará, Amazonas and Rondônia). This new record supports the notion that G. venusta is a locally rare species throughout its range, but widely distributed in Brazilian Amazonia.

Tribunais nacionais e tutela jurisdicional efetiva: da cooperação à integração judiciária no contencioso da união europeia

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências Jurídicas (área de especialização em Ciências Jurídicas Públicas).

A first evaluation on the use of Ardea albus feathers as bioindicators of mercury burden in Amazonian ecosystems

We evaluated in this study the total mercury concentration in feathers of Ardea albus collected in a colony located in the city of Belem-PA, Brazil in a prospective trial for its use as bioindicators of mercury burden in Amazonia ecosystems. An Atomic absorption spectrophotometry with gold amalgamation was used for the metal determination. The total mercury average concentration in body feathers was 2.2 ± 1.5 µg.g-1 and 1.3 ± 0.9 µg.g-1 in wing feathers. No correlation was observed between total mercury concentration and the length of body or wing feathers. Total mercury concentration was above 5 µg.g-1 dry weight in only one body feather sample.

Análise de dados e aplicação de modelos estatísticos para apoio à decisão de contratação na Petróleo Brasileiro

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Industrial

First record of Trichodina heterodentata (Ciliophora: Trichodinidae) from Arapaima gigas cultivated in Peru

This study characterized morphologically Trichodina heterodentata Duncan, 1977 from cultivated fingerlings of "pirarucu" Arapaima gigas in Peru. Body and gill smears were air-dried at room temperature, impregnated with silver nitrate and/or stained with gomori trichromic. Prevalence was 100%. Trichodina heterodentata was considered a medium-sized trichodinid with mean body diameter of 56.0+ 5.25 (47.3-76.0) μm, denticulate ring 28.21± 2.71 (20-34.7) μm, adhesive disc 45.7±3.8 (37.1-57.3) μm diameter and number of denticles of 20.7± 2.6 (12-24). The present study reports not only the first occurrence of T. heterodentata in Peru but also the first record of this trichodinid infesting A. gigas. Camparative tables of all reports of T. heterodentata are also presented.

Estudo da logística do armazenamento e distribuição interna de consumíveis clínicos de uma unidade hospitalar

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Industrial

Estudos de dispersão de nanografite em polipropileno

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia de Materiais

Myxomycetes collection preserved in the herbarium of the Federal University of Roraima (Brazil)

First records of myxomycetes in the North region of Brazil go back to the 19th century. Nevertheless, the myxobiota of this region is still largely unexplored, with only 42 species recorded, distributed in 20 genera and seven families. The objectives of this paper were to characterize the Myxomycetes collection of the Herbarium of the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR) and to add new records for the myxobiota of this State. The collection holds specimens collected in fragments of Open Ombrophilous Forest, Seasonal Semi-deciduous Forest, Riparian Forest, deforested areas and urban home gardens in the state of Roraima. The 157 exsiccates were analyzed and identified or redetermined based on identification keys, descriptions and illustrations. The collection is in good conditions of preservation and includes all subclasses of Myxomycetes, 83% of its orders, 50% of its families, and 20 species. Trichiales, with one family, three genera and six species, represents 62% of all exsiccates. Cribraria aff. splendens, Metatrichia vesparia, Physarella oblonga, Stemonaria longa and Stemonitis splendens are new records for Roraima and Arcyria obvelata, Comatricha pulchella, Stemonitis pallida and Stemonitopsis aequalis are referred for the first time in the Northern Region, enlarging the knowledge of the Brazilian geographic distribution of these species.

Prodromal Questionnaire: translation, adaptation to Portuguese and preliminary results in ultra-high risk individuals and first episode psychosis

OBJECTIVE: The Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ) is a 92-item self-report screening tool for individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) to develop psychosis. This study aims to present the translation to Portuguese and preliminary results in UHR and first episode (FE) psychosis in a Portuguese sample. METHODS: The PQ was translated from English to Portuguese by two bilingual researchers from the research program on early psychosis of the Instituto de Psiquiatria HCFMUSP, São Paulo, Brazil (ASAS - "Evaluation and Follow up of Adolescents and Young Adults in São Paulo") and back translated by two other researchers. The study participants (n = 11-) were evaluated through the Portuguese version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ) and SIPS. RESULTS: The individuals at UHR (n = 7) presented a lower score than first episode patients (n = 4). The UHR mean scores and standard deviation on Portuguese version of the PQ were: 13.0 ± 10.0 points on positive symptoms subscale, and FE patients: 33.0 ± 10.0. CONCLUSION: The UHR and FE patients' of this study presented PQ scores similar to the ones found in the literature; what suggests that it is possible to use the PQ in Brazilian help-seeking individuals as a screening tool.